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CEHURD (Center for Health, Human Rights and Development) invites journalists to apply for the 2013 intellectual property and human rights reporting fellowships. The fellowship is a one-year mentoring and capacity-building program for Ugandan journalists to report on issues cutting across intellectual property and human rights.

Purpose of the Fellowship Program

The CEHURD IP and Human Rights Media Fellowship Program aims to enhance the capacity of journalists in the mainstream media to appreciate the links between IP protection and social welfare, and the implications of the on going developments in the protection of IP rights at the different levels, and their implications for public health, access to educational materials, the right to food, and other human rights.

In 2013, the fellowship program will focus on:

The on going commercial law reform processes in Uganda and the East African region;

The on going dialogue around a possible extension to the transition period granted to LDCs to comply with the TRIPS Agreement; and

Alternative models for balancing the rights of IP owners and users, taking the case of the Creative Commons licenses and how it works for journalists and other information users;

Methodology

Successful applicants will attend a- two-day residential orientation training, and will be supported to identify and undertake follow-up activities. Selected candidates will be paired with a supervisor at the media house they are attached to, and linked with experts in the fields of IP and human rights who will provide technical guidance to the candidate to investigate story ideas they identify. The successful candidates will also participate in field visits to key organizations involved in IP work. The follow-up activities will not require full time work and will be supported through small grants.

Eligibility

Interested applicants should:

be journalists working with or attached to mainstream mass media in Uganda, including national (or East Africa level) newspapers, radio, or television;

commit to be available for the training, field trips and other follow-up activities between February 2013- December 2013;

Journalists reporting on policy issues (e.g. covering Parliament), and those with editing roles will have added advantage.